Sleeping Pills - An Effective AlternativeWritten by Donald Saunders
Overcoming insomnia is a journey - and, as you may have discovered, it can also be a matter of trial and response. Undertaken systematically overcoming insomnia and getting a good night's sleep is an ultimately rewarding process. But, if you've already made basic changes to your diet and sleep routine, and you've tried specific techniques for reducing stress and improving quality of your sleep, you may be tempted to turn to artificial sleep aids like sleeping pills.While sleeping pills may promise a miracle cure for insomnia, inherent risks of taking sleeping pills to combat insomnia are myriad. Regardless of whether you opt for short-term sleeping pills or a longer course, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines alike all carry similar risks - namely potential for over-use or, in worst cases, possibility of addiction. Because sleeping pills serve to depress your body's nervous system in order to create an artificial “sleep”, they do not facilitate essential healing and restorative cycles and functions normally undertaken by your body during sleep. That's why taking sleeping pills can often leave you feeling drowsy or inadequately rested in morning. Instead of turning to sleeping pills to overcome insomnia, try using one of numerous natural and time-tested remedies that are widely available. Often referred to as a “natural sleeping pill”, melatonin offers one viable sleep-enhancing option. Melatonin is hormone naturally produced by your body to induce sleep, and many people have successfully restored their own productive sleep patterns by using melatonin to help stimulate body's own urge to sleep. Melatonin can be an effective natural alternative to sleeping pills, but should nonetheless be used with caution as it is not yet regulated by any government body.
| | Insomnia - Getting The Help You NeedWritten by Donald Saunders
Experiencing an occasional sleepless night every now and again is normal and transient insomnia affects all of us from time to time, especially when we are under personal or professional stress, or our schedule changes significantly as a result of jet lag or shift work. But prolonged insomnia, lasting for perhaps six months or more, is another story.If you have been unable to sleep every night, or most nights, for an extended period, then you may well suffer from serious insomnia. If left untreated, such chronic insomnia can lead to a variety of significantly more serious conditions, including headaches, high blood pressure and even an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. What’s more, sleep disorders such as this can cause a loss of mental clarity and difficulty in concentrating. Insomnia and related sleep problems have also been linked to depression and other serious psychological and emotional problems. Fortunately, addressing problem, and getting help you need for a better night’s sleep, can prove relatively straightforward. Whether you suffer from initial insomnia (trouble falling asleep), middle insomnia (difficulty staying asleep), or late insomnia (waking up too early), a process of simple adjustments to your daily routine, exercise, diet and sleep schedule will gradually result in a new pattern of healthful and fulfilling sleep. A variety of natural sleep remedies (herbs, vitamins and minerals), when used appropriately, can prove an extremely effective tool in overcoming insomnia and generating a better night’s sleep. In fact, a few notable herbs and natural remedies have been medically recognized as natural equivalent of several well-known artificial sleep aids and sleeping pills, and have been lauded for their effectiveness. If you still find yourself struggling, even after making basic lifestyle changes and using proven natural remedies for insomnia (not to mention allowing an appropriate amount of time for these changes to take effect), you do need to seek advice of a doctor. In this case, you could be suffering from more severe insomnia or a related sleep disorder like sleep apnea, narcolepsy or restless legs syndrome, all of which require guidance of a medical professional. The following questionnaire will help you determine your level of insomnia. Simply answer “true” (T) or “false” (F) to each question:
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